Libellés

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Cloclo for sale!

If you're not French - or haven't lived in France in the 70's! - you probably did not understand the title of this post... Cloclo is the the nickname of Claude François, a very famous French singer who lived between 1939 and 1978 (he accidentally electrocuted himself in his bathtub). You surely don't know him (even though he wrote and composed Comme d'habitude, the original version of My Way and Parce que je t'aime mon enfant, the original version of My Boy), but here he was extremely popular and still his... To a point that today they are selling some of his stuff at Drouot, one of the main auction houses in Paris. I live right next by it, so I did not resist going there and take a few shot. The place was packed with old fans!

I am very familiar with the songs you highlighted and have them on CD's and on my iTouch, but I never knew the person behind those lyrics and music. I feel guilty that I never took the time to learn more about Cloclo. Thanks for sharing this with us today.

And the way he died is really silly; he tried to fix en electric fixture while he was in his bathtub! Because of this, there is even an electrical standard in France stating that no electric outlet or fixture should be installed within a 60 centimeter range from any water source (basin, shower, etc.)!

Yes I remember I was not a fan at all either. Being a Claude François fan when I was 15 was considered as terribly tacky! But now, there is not a single party where they don't play at least once one of his latest songs!

Eric, did you see the excellent movie "Cloclo" that came out last year, with Jeremie Renier as Claude François? It was pretty good and showed was a talented, perfectionist - and hugely insecure - artist he was! It's funny, I remember exactly where I was the day the radio announced he had died accidentally in his bathroom. "Cloclo" - and his background dancers "les Claudettes" was indeed a huge star in France. Thanks for the memories. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)